Writing is a core subject at Wath CofE Primary School. Basic skills like handwriting and spelling are taught rigorously so that the children become confident in these building blocks of writing. In Foundation, the children practise a range of activities which help them develop pressure and fine motor control. This is built on through Foundation 2 and into Year 1 and Year 2 where the children work on letter formation, shape and size. In KS2, the children develop joined handwriting and their own style. In spelling, children in Foundation and Year 1 improve their knowledge of phonics and the ability to spell a range of tricky words. From Year 2, the children build on earlier phonics work through a systematic spelling programme designed around the application of spelling rules.  This programme uses a range of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic approaches to help children become confident spellers.

 

When looking at writing, children start by understanding the spelling, grammar and punctuation relevant to the text type they are studying. After this, they take this text apart [deconstruct] and then with the support of teacher modelling, try to construct the children’s own version of this text type [reconstruct]. Where possible, writing tasks are linked to learning in history, geography, science or other curriculum areas to make them meaningful and consolidate the children’s curriculum learning. Children are encouraged to edit their work independently as much as possible using resources in the classroom and to share ideas with peers.  The writing journey is showcased in a number of displays around school which gives children a sense of pride in their work. 

 

Reading and writing go hand in hand and we hope that by fostering a love of reading throughout school, we will see an impact in the quality of writing through children’s deliberately chosen vocabulary and sentence structures identified when reading for pleasure.